


The Fullmetal Maze Runner

by CreeperHanabi



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, The Maze Runner (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, I will be updating tags and archive warnings as this goes along I think lmao.., M/M, Multi, Other, Survival, and movie, everyone will be utterly rekt if i can help it, loosely based off The Maze Runner books, the concept of alchemy is a little different here, will eventually just roll off into something completely unrelated to the books lmao bear with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-03-04 03:11:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2907134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreeperHanabi/pseuds/CreeperHanabi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following Greed and his group as they fight to figure out why they are trapped within a maze and just what is waiting for them on the otherside. Everything gets just that bit more interesting when a new Greenie arrives, a mad, young man by the name of Kimblee, who disrupts the peace and forces everyone to question their reality.</p><p>❈⊱❖⊰❈</p><p>This is my first ever story, so it'll be a journey for me as well as you. I hope you stick around and help me through to the end. It'll be a long fic, so pack your bags, we're going on an adventure.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And then there was Greed

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who haven't read The Maze Runner, I shall give you a little help with terms throughout where I feel it may be necessary.
> 
> Gladers:  
> Literally the people living in the center of the maze. It's a glade. Nice place.
> 
> The Maze/Wall:  
> There are four entrances to the maze. Gigantic walls of rock in the north, east, south, west. They open as soon as the sun comes up and close when the light begins to dip. No one knows how to escape the maze, they've been spending years scouting it to no avail.
> 
> Runners:  
> These are fast people with good stamina, they run through the maze and map it out, getting up early most days to scout the maze before returning before the great walls close up. Anyone unfortunate enough to be trapped inside during the night never return in the morning.
> 
> Homunculi:  
> I know you know who these cats are, but this time the infamous 'Homunculi' are here in place of the monsters from the books called 'Grievers'. These giant mechanical spiders lurk the maze at night and viciously kill or sting Runners.  
> I won't tell you what the Homunculi are just yet, so this is just to fill you in on what I'm loosely basing them on for this story.
> 
> I think that's all for now, I hope you enjoy!

The air was cool, sunlight just beginning to peek over the edges of the great maze walls warming the lush, green grass and trees that blanketed the Glade. It was the first real day that a young Edward had joined the Gladers and Greed was already worried about him. He’d done nothing but stare off into the distance, repeating his name under muffled breaths and staring at his hands as if there was something there but he couldn’t quite see it. Greed had no idea what to do about this, and so, had taken to mostly watching him from a distance just to make sure he didn’t hurt himself, letting some other Gladers know to keep an eye out as well.

The boy looked about thirteen, with shoulder length, golden blonde hair tied in a ponytail and a seriously unfitting grimace that could sour milk. His bright, yellow eyes were dulled the moment he could remember his name. Greed just assumed he thought it was ugly or something. After all, ‘Edward’ was probably the most boring name they’d heard on the Glade so far.

“Call me Ed,” The child had said before becoming totally silent to the group from that moment on.

Now that the morning had come, and Ed was no longer allowed to mope in his sleeping bag, Maes, a tall, kind looking man and definitely one of the older ones of the group, was showing Ed the gardens. He brought him through the strawberry patch and pointed out the different types of vegetables they were growing. Roy had already introduced their low quality beds the night before - simple hammocks, or ragged looking sleeping bags if you were lucky - and was now busy building another shelter for any more greenies who may end up joining them… which was exactly what Greed was supposed to be doing.

“Ahem.” Roy’s low cough brought Greed back to attention and he shrugged sheepishly in return. “He’s not going to go insane the moment you take your eyes off him.” 

Greed could only laugh at that, moving back into his working rhythm, picking up the long branches they’d stripped from the trees the day before. It was a simple shelter, not that they needed anything more solid. Any rainfall was a blessing and dried very quickly in the hot sun.

“Hey, you never know.” Was his reply, another worn shrug to go with it. “I’ve seen it happen before, Mustang.”

The Gladers had grown accustomed to calling the black haired teen ‘Mustang’. He was built like a horse - Greed insisted everyone used their imaginations when they first asked why he was called that. He got a lot of confused and shocked expressions before Roy made him tell them the real reason - and ran for ages without needing a break. A good Runner he was, but unfortunately not that fast. He would always lead the team if he sensed any danger on their way back or through the maze. He was good like that. Careful, and with great instinct.

Roy snorts at the nickname and shakes his head. “Whatever, Bossman.” They smirk at eachother and continue their work.

❈⊱❖⊰❈

The makeshift cabin took until nightfall to be completed, with countless extra hands helping out here and there to give both Roy and Greed a break to go grab some food or take a drink. They were used to the process by now, the two older members, plus Maes on occasion, would start building-projects and rally in help from the others to teach them a thing or two just in case they’d need it. Passing on the survival tips and all that. Roy generally did that part, explaining what needed to be done with precision and care, like a true leader, unlike Greed.

Usually someone would ask why Roy wasn’t in charge of things, since clearly he was more organized, but it was always met with a laugh and a shrug. Maes explained it was because Greed had been there the longest of anyone. He knew the most and therefore should be the leader by proxy.

Tonight was one of those nights.

With the Runners having returned safely once more, everyone had gathered in the main cabin for the nights meal to properly welcome their new green bean, Edward. Sitting around the hearth in the center of the room, everyone was chattering comfortably, laughing and talking about their day, sharing jokes and gushing over their special dinner of vegetable soup, laden with tasty, meaty chunks. The older Gladers encircled their young charges, letting them stay warm by the fire as the night grew cold.

It was Ed who spoke up, breaking his full day silence to ask the question on any Greenbean’s mind.

“So why’s he the leader?” The quiet question broke the buzzing chatter, a wooden spoon jabbing hesitantly in Greed’s direction, “And why’s he called Greed? That’s not a name.” His frown was still there, deepened by the shadows cast by the flickering fire before him.

The room fell silent, some Gladers snorted and nudged eachother. Like clockwork, the newbies always ask some variation of the question, and by now it had become an inside joke. There was an equally sudden eruption of faint grumbles and moans around the mess of tired boys, Greed guessed that some of the kids had placed bets, hoping on Ed’s continued silence so that they could win an extra piece of bread or chunk of meat. The looks on their faces proved as much when they gave up some of their food to their sniggering companions.

Ed didn’t seem to be too bothered by it, his eyes were on Greed, now completely unwavering.

Roy gave him a look, catching Greed’s gaze as if to ask if he was going to tell him or not. Purple eyes locked with black, only breaking away to meet young, golden ones. With a heavy sigh Greed nodded.

“I’m the leader because I’ve been here the longest.” He pointed out simply, not even managing to explain his namesake before Ed struck again sharply.

“I can’t believe that.” Was the instant reply.

Greed raised his brow and stood, bowl placed on the floor with a hollow clack as he did so. Around the hearth others exchanged looks, some smirking uncertainly, others intrigued by what the greeny had to say.

“And why’s that, kid?”

“I watched you today, that other guy-” A bowl raised in Roy’s direction, “-was doing most of the work.” He took a bite of his food thoughtfully, eyes still on the two elder Glader’s, calculating. “I don’t believe you were here for a whole month on your own.”

Ah, so someone had explained how things were run here, that’s good. It saved Greed from having to explain later.

“That’s…” It occurred to him that not everyone in the room knew the answer to this either. Eager eyes watched him, waiting for half truths, disappointment, or utter avoidance of the question. Even Roy was looking at him now. “... Correct.”

Maes gave a sigh from the corner as he stood as well, moving over to join Greed giving him a heavy slap on the back. He didn’t say anything, just looked around and smiled at the younger ones sadly before taking a seat by Roy.

Greed continued, Ed’s stare becoming a little unnerving for such a small boy.

“The first guy here was a man by the name of Hoenheim. Weird dude, I’ll admit. Total dad material.” Greed snorts, “Then Bradley. He was honestly pretty scary, you could never tell what he was thinking. He was the first Runner.” A bitter laugh, “I’ll admit, he’s the reason I’m called Greed, we made jokes about him bringing down his Wrath upon us and it kinda stuck from there. Next was Sloth, I don’t remember that guy’s name at all, it was really hard to pronounce so we collectively decided Sloth was just quicker. He and Wrath built this cabin all you lazybones’ are sitting in right now.” His eyes glanced over the faces of the children, mockingly accusatory, “I came next. I’m more of a Runner too, so I spent a lot of time with Bradley out in the maze.” In an afterthought he adds, “I do not recommend that experience.” He lifts a hand, showing on his fingers the number of Gladers as he names the remaining few, motioning briefly to the man beside Roy as he spoke, “Our very own Maes came the next month. Then Roa, Gluttony, Martel, Bido and Dolcetto.” It’s at this he finally grimaces, unsure of what else to add. The warm expression on his face as he named his old friends had faded with his words, the hush in the room was the only respectful response the others could give him.

Ed seemed to pick up on it, setting his own bowl down and tilting his head, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Where are they now?” It was one question that anyone could have answered, but they didn’t. They were waiting for Greed’s permission, or to see if he wanted to tell the new kid anything yet. It was the bitter cold look that had made it’s home in Greed’s eyes that confirmed that he did.

“We call them Homunculi.”


	2. Being Leader is Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed gets some more information on whats going on in the glade but no one seems to be able to give him anything specific.  
> Meanwhile, Greed is haunted by memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, second chapter already. I hope it's a nice chunk to read! I still hope to make these things even longer when I get the hang of this writing thing.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

“S’what exactly _are_ the ‘Humanculi’?” It seemed that since Ed decided to start talking he wouldn’t leave Greed’s side, trailing him around as he collected logs and insisting that he told him more about the workings of the glade. Everyone had been as up front and honest as possible since they didn’t believe lying or hiding information was very productive, but there was only so much knowledge the others had that Greed claimed tenfold of.

“Okay kid, first of all, it’s _Homunculi_. Like the plural of Homunculous, right?” Greed pushes an armful of logs into Ed’s hands as he works. If he was going to hang around he may as well be useful and help collect the firewood for the night. The boy’s eyes narrow, the cogs clearly working behind that ever curious noggin of his. It seemed the extra ways of pronouncing the word helped him figure out how it might have been spelt.

“Riiight… Okay. _Homunculi_.” Ed sniffs and looks back to Greed, “So what are they? An’ stop calling me _kid_!”

Greed steadies a too large log on a flat surface and weighs his knife in his palm, a deep frown on his face. Not from the question, but more because he didn’t want to blunt his blade anymore with something they ideally needed an axe for. It takes his mind a moment to process the question before he throws the weapon down on the floor and takes a seat on the log, glancing up at the teen. Ed returns the look, shifting the wood in his arms to a more comfortable position. 

“I’m not… totally sure, to be perfectly honest with yah.” Greed links his fingers, elbows resting on his knees, “From what I’ve gathered, if they get you, you won’t see it - only feel immense pain - like being stabbed, only not…” He does a vague knifing motion and Ed just stares.

From the blonde’s expression he was finding it hard to understand what Greed meant, but in a vague, roundabout way he could probably imagine. He’d come to realize that the Glade Leader wasn’t exactly the most eloquent with his words.

Greed continues, “It’s like an infectious sting, only it drives you mad until you lose your mind completely, like totally batshit.” He looks as if he was going to say more but he stops, but Ed picks up on it immediately, going through all the possible outcomes of something that dangerous in such a small place like this.

“So y’killed ‘em?” Blunt, but not without a childish look of apprehension and fear mixed in at the thought. “I mean, like, if y’got madmen running around out here, it’s you or them, right?”

Greed opens his mouth as if he were about to contest the point but he finds himself closing it again to shake his head, “Nah, no killing, not me,” he sighs, finally dropping his gaze and standing up. “Well - I guess you may just find out some day.”

Ed almost drops the firewood in protest but he keeps a hold of it and shifts his weight to accommodate the change, “Why can’t I know right now?!” It was a pretty justifiable question. He didn’t want to find out how to deal with crazy at the same time as being attacked by the aforementioned crazy.

Greed smirks at the teen and ruffles his hair with a rough hand before leaning down to collect his knife, leaving the log where it is.

“All in good time, Ed. Now come on, we have other work to do instead of leisurely chatter.”

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

The day passes lazily, the heat of the sun casting a warm, comfortable glow across the glade. Voices drift over grass from distant conversations, the faded thumps of axes stripping branches echo through the trees. All in all, it was the same as everyday, but Ed was only just getting to grips with it.

Greed had watched over him the entire day, taking him around the small forested area to show him their river, to the rickety, wooden bridge that tracked it’s way over it, and the tiny spit of land in the center. The Gladers had small, worn tents up and mats placed out on the grass. Greed explained that there wasn’t enough room in the main cabin anymore so some of the guys came out here to watch the stars in relative peace before finding slumber. Ed had made some pleased grunts, _“I suppose the water makes for a nice lullaby then, huh.”_ Finally they’d trekked their way to Cook and grabbed a couple of sandwiches before the others came piling in for lunch. They’d sat under a tree, shaded from the harsh light, to enjoy their food. It seemed Ed wasn’t used to not eating a lot for meals so Greed had given him one of his sandwiches. _“Second real day, I’ll let you off.”_ He’d said.

And now they were at the walls of the maze.

Ed runs his fingers over the rough surface, speechless at just how tall the walls were from up close. He knew they were way too big to be real, but standing here like this only proved to make him feel even more insignificant in the grand scheme of things. He turns to gape at Greed who only laughs.

“I just can’t fuckin’ believe it.” Ed places both hands on the stone and breathes out, “These things close, right? I think I heard them the other night, but, didn’t really pay attention, y’know?”

Greed snorts and nods, “Yeah - pretty incredible really, these babies make a sound louder than anything yet you paid no attention whatsoever. Usually Greenies freak out or get all deep and poetic about it,” He shrugs and laughs again, “Trust me, I’ve seen it all.” His tongue flashes out for a second and Ed waves him off.

“Yeah, yeah - guess it can’t have been _that_ loud, then, if I didn’t hear it!” He insists, sweeping around to lean on the wall, arms folded and chin up, defiant.

Greed is about to reply when he hears a faint echo of footfalls bouncing off the walls inside the maze. He steps to the side to take a better look down the narrow passage, motioning for Ed to join him.

It had to be about six meters wide and a hundred meters long where you’d hit a solid wall that branched off left and right. The rocky surfaces were blanketed in choking vines, gnarly, old and suffocating.

Soon the echoes grew louder, the clapping of shoes on concrete clearer, prompting Ed to move toward the mouth of the passage to stare inside, occasionally glancing back and forth from the maze to a smug looking Greed to see if it was okay.

“What is it?” Ed barely breathes out before a duo of older teens come sprinting around the corners, earning a yelp of surprise from Edward. They didn’t stop to acknowledge the newbie at all, only focusing on the path ahead as they ran.

Greed nudges Ed and briefly motions to the other entrances with a finger. Golden eyes follow the direction and he smiles. From the other seeable openings, he could pick out Gladers cheering as their friends stumble out of the maze. “They got back.”

Greed note the sound of relief in the statement and nods, turning back to the two Runners who had almost made it through too.

“Ling, Enna, come here a sec.”

The Runners slow to a stop in front of their Leader and take the moment to catch their breath, one of them rolling their eyes at something.

They were both relatively short compared to Greed. Both had long black hair tied back or scraped out of their eyes in a somewhat creative manner. The asian boy, the slightly taller of the two, was smiling, a hand held out in greeting which Ed took quickly and shook. He looked very relaxed for someone who had just sprinted a hundred or so meters through what Ed believed to be hell. He wore a small yellow and white jacket above his equally dirty white shirt - probably from the sweat - it was opened loosely at the top but stuck to his skin by a leather chest wrap. He looked light and thin but it was clear from his job description alone that this couldn’t have been the case.

“The name’s Ling!” He cheers, shaking Ed’s hand with a strong grip. He turns to nod over his shoulder at his companion, who must be Enna, “And that’s Envy.”

Ed lets go of his hand and offers it hesitantly to Envy. _So she’s another one of the people with funny names._ He notes how she seems the same build as Ling, only her clothing was more revealing than his so it was easier to see the lean muscles over her arms, legs and torso.

“Hey.” Envy takes his hand and almost crushes it. Her voice was low and grainy, almost too low for a common woman’s pitch. It finally dawns on his conscience that there were no women in the glade, Maes had told him so. If one didn’t see themselves the same way he’d figured it would have been mentioned to him at least once by now - it was only right.

Feeling awkward for no real reason, Ed removes his hand from the other boy’s death grip earning him a loud, rough, cackle of a laugh.

“It’s okay, shorty, I know what you’re thinking and I really don’t care. If it makes it any easier, ‘he’ and ‘him’’ll work just fine,” Envy, sticks his tongue out, just as Greed had done earlier to set a playful mood, “Just acknowledge I look damn good and we won’t have any trouble.”

Ed snorts and grins back, recovering quickly and settling into a more relaxed stance, “Whatever.” He jabs a finger at him, friendly smirk turning upside down, back into the same expression he’d practically embodied since arriving, “And hey! We’re the same stupid height, idiot.”

At that, Greed bursts into a laugh from behind and steps forward to wrap his arms around their shoulders, pulling them uncomfortably close. Ling is left mercifully free from having his face shoved into Greed’s armpits. Both Ed and Envy squawk in disgust, batting at him and shoving him away, complaints and curses being fired out at an impressive rate.

“Aww, what’s wrong guys? Yah don’t like your Uncle Greed’s best hugs?”

“No one does, y’giant moron!” Envy manages to spit out.

“Ahahah --! Alright, alright, get back to base, kiddies. Cook’ll be needing help with the grub - so hop to it!” He releases the two shorter boys and almost throws them back in the direction of the kitchen cabin. Ling almost instantly at their sides at the mention of food.

The asian boy sidles up to Ed and mimics their Leader, his arm snaking over the blonde's shoulder before he can protest, muttering something about which meals he likes best and which Ed just _needs_ to try.

Greed sighs. He can only smile after them, moving to follow until he’s stopped by a mechanical groaning in the maze. Purple eyes glance upwards at the rising shadows over the trees before dropping down to see Ed spinning on his heels to look back the way he came. Greed turns slowly to join him in watching the maze begin it’s change.

They watch together as the giant walls of stone jolt and rattle in preparation for it’s movement. Further inside, the complex of great barriers - over a hundred meters high - rumble and boom, echoing and groaning as they came together and changed. Around them the other three walls were doing the same, scraping loudly against the concrete sending sparks flying until it finally seals shut.

Then there was a moment of overwhelming silence.

Greed breathes out slowly, folding his arms and shaking his head. He’d seen it a hundred times before, but it never got boring. It was fascinating. It was horrifying. He remembers the first time he’d seen it, Bradley had laughed and slapped him on the back, _Bet you never thought those could move, eh, boy!_ And it was true enough. Greed had never expected something of that sheer size to be able to move, but move it did.

He glances back over to the boys and grins, the old, learned feeling of claustrophobia washing off him once more.

“Nice, huh?”

Envy and Ling smirk and grab Ed in a loose hold, joining him in staring at the wall, a deep sense of pride on their faces as if, _Yes. This is our home, and we’re sharing it with you now._

“Wow.” Ed breathes quietly, almost sagging against his companions, staring dumbly at the closed entrance as if anything he could say to describe it would be an understatement of the century. How had he missed that enormous event last night? He couldn’t even remember, the memory was a murky shade he couldn’t quite reach but it didn’t bother him right now. He had some fairly hefty information to process in front of him.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

Back in the main campsite, Greed was sat alone on his slightly raised bed. He had left the three boys to get better acquainted, telling them they could have the rest of the day off to chill before supper while he attended to business.

Mustang had visited briefly, reporting his finds from the maze to Greed as soon as they were alone in his room, then promptly left after the discussion to help with other preparations, such as getting everyone out of HQ and finding them a temporary sleeping space while they moved it’s new occupant upstairs.

Greed was to join him immediately, but not before rubbing his eyes and letting out a tired sigh of defeat, one that wished this didn’t have to happen, one that was sick of losing another friend. His family.

An ear-splitting scream sliced through the air causing Greed to jump, fear crawling in the back of his mind, replacing the dark thoughts.

They must have started moving the poor kid to the cabin already.

More painful shrieks sounded throughout the glade, forcing Greed up - to move, to help. He could hear Envy yelling something over the noise, probably at Ed, telling him to not go near, to stay away. Greed thanks him silently under his breath and rushes through the rabble of curious and equally mortified Gladers to help speed up the moving. No one needed to see this.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

They get the Runner up the stairs, stopping frequently to grab his beating legs and flailing arms. The boy had a look of agony and rage in his eyes. He just kept screaming and kicking and shouting things desperately as if he was trying to tell them something important, but at the same time nothing made sense. It was painful to watch.

Worse when Greed saw a flash of complete peace and understanding in the boy’s eyes before he was consumed once more by his repeated thrashing, feral sounds rattling his body.

It was like time was standing still. Had he even seen that? Maybe the kid’s heart had stopped for a moment, maybe it was nothing, maybe Greed was just so terrified of losing someone else that he was seeing things. He didn’t see why it couldn’t be a possibility.

A shout from Mustang was enough to get Greed back. Maes had come to help too, a look on his face that spoke of the same pain Greed’s did. Soon they were strapping the Runner down while he continued his guttural screaming.

They were exhausted.

“Maes, can you stay here with him? Keep an eye out?” Roy was the only collected one there, though the other two knew he was likely enduring the same feelings of helplessness and fear. You could see it in his eyes.

“S-sure,” was the only reply.

“We’ll do shifts,” He pauses, “Like last time.”

The emptiness those three words brought was suffocating.

“Right…”

Greed gives Maes a sympathetic nod, glancing over the body of the boy. He looks possessed, horror in his eyes, words silenced by his own nerve-grinding shrieks.

Greed winces, not taking his eyes off the writhing form strapped to the bed, “... I’ll be back soon, be careful, Maes.”

And then they’re gone, leaving the eldest of the Gladers behind to watch over his charge.

Greed just can’t quite shake the feeling he got back there. That crystal clear gaze of understanding that lasted what must have only been a fraction of a second.

Just what was that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter down! I can't believe I'm still going, this is great. :D
> 
> I am really excited for the next chapter. I get to write Kimblee.  
> Also if anyone was wondering, Envy is genderfluid and uses he/him/his pronouns.
> 
> Thank you for reading this far!  
> See you next time! >v


	3. Back to Prison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild Kimblee appears!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a blog for this series. I'd leave a link but it's full of random fma stuff it's embarrassing--
> 
> ANYWHO.
> 
> I've been wanting to post this for ages, but had some things to get done first. I'm going to ignore the fact that I still haven't finished said 'things' but hey, what can you do.
> 
>  
> 
> But yes, onto the next chapter. Enjoy!

Everything seemed to calm down after that. The Runner was given an antidote and had taken a few days of screaming and writhing on his bed for the serum to work and for him to recover. After that, the Glade was once more filled with the silence of hard work.

Usually when someone gets stung they start to remember things about their old lives. Just small flashes, clearer images. But as with all of them, they kept quiet, they changed. No one was ever the same after that.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

Greed watches over all the daily tasks, somewhat anxiously. His mind was still on the infected boy and the out of place expressions he had made. Earlier, Greed had confided in Roy and Maes about it but they didn’t know what to say on the matter. How could they? Nothing could be proven and nothing would make anyone less uneasy about the information either.

Gradually, Greed just let it go, dismissing it to a scrap of paper in the Homestead that they would touch upon later should it come to their attention again. Nerves still not at ease, he does the only thing he knows. Work.

The harder you work, the less sad you feel after all. You don’t need to think, just do.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

Ed was settling in. The whole situation with the Runner had shaken him up but he was doing surprisingly well with coping. He didn’t seem to think he even had family to remember, so he wasn’t like the other kids who had spent their first weeks frightened, walking around aimlessly, crying themselves to sleep and practically shitting themselves in fear. There was really only one thing that appeared to be on his mind, but his memories - like everyone elses - were all a blur. It was as if every time he reached for them, a door would slam shut in his face and snatch them away again. His dreams were full of people and places, but no faces or signs, just smudges of a reality he couldn’t comprehend anymore.

Greed notices that Ed consistently glances at his right arm, most times without even realizing it, then moves tap his left foot in an irritable manner. It must have been a weird habit he’d had before all of this had even happened. At least, it was all Greed could think of. It wasn’t like anyone had anything to go by.

Greed sighs and finishes helping the gardeners with their plowing and goes to pack the equipment away. He allows his troubled thoughts to drift as he leaves, making his way back to Homestead. The rickety looking cabin sat at an uneven slant, half in the shade of a big willow tree, it’s leaves pouring over the roof like a green waterfall. He snorts at it and shakes his head. It brought him so many memories of the Glade when he first arrived. This was the house that stood since the beginning, and it had been the _only_ house too. The rest that snuggled up close around it had been built afterwards, for more children and other conveniences. Among those, they had the Slammer - otherwise known as Timeout For Morons or Do That Again And We’ll Extend Your Stay To A Week Without Dinner. A punishment room, basically, with only one door, a dip in the center, a single chair and absolutely nothing else. Isolation is not fun and apparently serves as a good motivator for Gladers to not do stupid shit. Moving on from the less popular establishment between the Homestead and the North wall, there stood the House of Red - the slaughter house - tucked away by the southern end where they kept the farm and animals - it was where they prepared the meat. And last but not least, the small huts dotted about center of the Glade. Lots of places for people to sleep were set up around the Homestead so that everyone was together.

There was one thing about the Glade that really threw Greed through a loop; they had unlimited electricity coming from somewhere, and an unlimited water supply pumping through the ground to keep the grass and trees growing since it rarely rained - any rain that did come through dried up in seconds under the hot sun. They were given supplies every week on the same day without fail, carrying planks of wood, more clothing, serum, anything they could possibly need. It was laughable actually, the fact that the Gladers seemed to get by easily without most of this and even going as far as to insist on living on rations - albeit decently sized ones but that wasn’t the point. They used fire over electric light, cooked soups in giant saucepans over them too for special occasions. It was a strange sense of fun they got from it, as if they were excited to sit by the campfire, like they were _proper_ children again with no responsibilities or life threatening dangers just around the corner.

Greed smiles to himself and continues on, his mind full of pleasant thoughts of the Glade, definitely preferable over being scared.

That is until the area is filled with a loud siren. It was the sound that the box made once a month when someone was sent up, only it had been just under a week since Edward had arrived.

His brow creases and he turns toward the sound, eyes on the other Gladers as they stand straight, looking around themselves to see if anyone knew what was up. Some look his way for guidance but Greed can only shrug as he heads away from Homestead and over to the Box - the object of everyone’s interest.

“But we already got a Greenie… What’s goin’ on?” Greed hears a surprised murmur from Ling somewhere in the growing crowd of boys.

Greed folds his arms and stands over the square door in the ground, not entirely sure what to say. Ed makes his way over to his side and gives him a small nudge, frowning.

“Hey, Greed. What the hell was that sound?”

He gives Ed a pensive look before shrugging for what he thought might be the start of many more well practiced shoulder-hops, “Well, you came out of here too, remember? The siren goes off ten minutes before any o’you Greenies come sprouting out of it. I guess this would be your first time hearing it, hah.” But the look on Greed’s face wasn’t one of humour. He gives a small stone a kick and it rattles across the steel door.

Ed huffs quietly beside him, “Has anyone tried to go back with the box? You know, to like, get the hell outta here?”

“No, the box doesn’t move until it’s completely empty so trying to climb in and wait won’t work.”

Ed opens his mouth to respond but Greed cuts him off, “And no, sending someone down after the box is gone won’t work either, we tried. Threw a rock down there and never heard it land.” Again Ed’s mouth comes open, “And nope. Hanging some poor fool down by ivy from the maze to see how far he can reach is definitely not in the question. Go check out the graveyard, we kept his remains to serve as a reminder to not be a stupid fuck.”

“Are you fuckin’ shitting me? That’s disgusting!” Ed finally gets out, “Why the hell did y’keep his _remains_?”

“Language, kid. I just told you why. Like a hot knife through butter...” Greed snorts and smacks a hand on Ed’s shoulder before leaning in and whispering, “... he was cut clean in half.”

Ed’s mouth falls open in shock and surprise, quickly forming a well practiced look of disgust and suspicion as if he thought Greed was just playing with him. But he wasn’t.

Before he can question it again, the Box grinds beneath the steel door and shudders to a halt. Nobody seems to move for a long moment before Greed leans down and opens a small hatch to see inside before he opens it. He wasn’t in the mood for surprises.

Inside was the usual; boxes of clothing, the familiar scent of a farm and a nervous ‘baa’ of a sheep to go with it. Some rope dumped in a corner and the shadow of a body laying on the cage floor. Greed can only grimace as he leans away again and closes the hatch so that he can open it up fully. Everyone around the Box backs up slightly to give him room to throw open the door and peer down at the contents below.

“Well, Ed,” Greed’s hands find his knees as he slumps over them, eyes on the man sleeping on the floor, “Looks like you ain’t the Greeny anymore.”

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

Jumping down with a loud clatter, Greed checks the newbie’s pulse out of habit. Sometimes they arrived asleep, but usually wide awake, panicked by not knowing what was going on or why they were in a cage. Satisfied that his visitor wasn’t a corpse he gives the rest of the boys a confused shrug, then nudges the body with his foot. The man in question doesn’t stir, only his long, black hair makes any movement, falling over his eyes and onto the floor. He was soaking wet too, but that was normal at least.

With the second kick of his boot, a hand lashes out and digs clawed nails into Greed’s ankle. He cries out in surprise and backs up, falling onto the box with the sheep in it as it bleats away within. The man on the floor scrambles to his feet and jams himself into the corner furthest from Greed and stares at him with wild eyes.

Greed acts fast and holds up his hands, “Hey, whoa, not gonna hurt yah, buddy. Just calm down, you’re okay now.”

The man doesn’t look the least bit convinced, eyes glancing all over until grinding to a halt on the faces above him. He was surrounded and he knew it, but it only makes him shrink further into himself.

Greed keeps trying, “Hey man, it’s okay. Just tell me your name, yeah?” He motions to himself with both hands, “I’m Greed, the Boss ‘round these parts. Ain’t nobody gonna hurt you here.” Probably.

The voice that comes from the black haired man is low and grating, as if entirely unused or from shouting until he lost it, “Oh please, this is just one prison to another, isn’t it?” He spits the words with a snarl, hair falling into his eyes from the intensity of it.

Greed is taken aback, “Prison..?” He didn’t feel like it was any prison, but the Greenie seemed to be sure of what he was saying. The Gladers above start muttering amongst themselves in hushed whispers, only silenced when Greed gives them a hard look, “What do you mean, ‘one prison to another’?”

This earns him a scoff and a roll of his eyes, “Don’t try to be innocent, asshole. You may have taken all my memories, but I still remember the goddamn prison. Where else would you send me?”

Realizing he probably wasn’t getting anywhere with this, Greed stands up with a sigh. The other man cringing back as far as he could. He gives the newbie a vaguely concerned look but shrugs it off, holding out a hand, “Well, I don’t really know what you’re on about, but do you want help outta here or not?” With his free hand Greed points up, the other Gladers waving sheepishly or opting to remain still in front of the scary man. Greed’s hand drops, the movement bringing the attention back to him, “As I was saying earlier, I’m Greed. Do you know what your name is yet?”

The man on the floor just regards him with a glare before slowly twisting his lip up in an awkward, angry smirk, “Kimblee.” He sounds defeated but makes a point of looking at Greed’s hand as if he were trying to tap into psychic powers and burn it off. Greed takes this as a good time to lower aforementioned hand and sigh once more. He’s about to thank him for finally cooperating when the whole prison thing strikes up in the forefront of his mind, making him pause for a moment too long. Kimblee was now watching him like a hawk.

Greed moves to climb out as fast as he can, not bothering to look back at Kimblee as he addressed the rest of the group that were loitering about, “Okay guys, get back to work. This is a normal day so act like it.” He points into the crowd, his finger finding a white haired man around his age, wearing sunglasses, “Miles, get to cookin’.” Miles just snorts and nods, motioning a hat tipping before he turns away and heads for the Homestead, “Looks like we’re having another damn feast tonight, huh.” He mumbles.

The kids all cheer and happily return about their own business, which leaves Greed with the Greenie in the Box. Satisfied everyone was gone, he turns around and stares down.

“Prison, huh?”

Kimblee says nothing.

Greed sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose, “Look, I don’t need anyone worrying more than they have to, so please for the love of all things, don’t go around telling everyone you got your ass jacked outta goddamn _prison_.” He drops to a crouch, eyes not moving away from Kimblee’s face, “That said,” He holds out his hand again, “Still gonna be keeping a close eye on you. Ain’t no one ever said anything about a prison when they got here, so that makes you a special case, and a dangerous one at that. Do you remember what you were in for?”

There’s a long moment where Kimblee appears to be weighing the odds of what he could say, but his hand finds Greed’s before he can think more on it, “I don’t.”

“Right.” Greed hauls him out, surprised at how light the other guy was. He looked to be around the same age, probably a few years his junior. Strong and well trained, but lacking in areas that made Greed think he was being starved. He frowns, “Yah hungry..?”

Kimblee pulls his hand away as soon as he is outside the box and flashes Greed a suspicious glare, “You people really don’t remember anything either, do you.” He said it more like a fact than a question, ignoring the question entirely.

Greed shrugs and looks Kimblee up and down, shaking his head, “Nope, nothin’. We came here blank as a wall, each and every one of us shanks.” Kimblee quirks a brow at that and looks away.

“Besides our names?” He catches on quick.

“Besides our names.” Greed repeats.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

It doesn’t take long to fill Kimblee in on everything. He stays quiet and learns quickly, not asking any questions until the end of the explanation. He was a sharp guy, cautious, and very private. Greed could tell he wasn’t going to get much out of this one in the future.

After a while of talking about the Glade and it’s occupants, Kimblee seems calm enough to trust that no one here was out to get him, nor were any of them dangerous in the least, so long as rules were followed and order was kept. Kimblee didn’t have nearly the same reaction as Ed had done days before on the subject of death. Greed felt he could tell Kimblee about the punishments they had for rule breaking in detail, half of the reason was because he knew he wouldn’t try running away, and half because Greed wanted him to know just what would happen should he try to pull any funny business with them. That much he needed to be clear.

“So you kick people out into the maze.”

“Yes.”

“Well, sure saves you from killing them.” Kimblee snorts dryly, “Still have to deal with the mess though, don’t you.” The smile he gives Greed is cold and knowing. He guessed the Runners would have to drag any remains back from the maze to be buried here in the Glade. Leaving kids to rot in plain view out there would be disgusting and disrespectful.

Greed nods, “So yeah, just don’t try to kill anybody and you’ll be A-okay!” He laughs humourlessly, kicking at some vines by the West wall. His stomach gives a low rumble and his foot stops short, lowering to the grassy floor again.

Kimblee raises a brow and shoves his hands in his pockets, ignoring the sound, “How come you look so much older than everyone else?” His eyes are on his feet as he continues walking along the wall.

Greed looks almost offended, a hand moving to his chest at the question, “I’ll have you know I’m probably twenty five years old!” This is met with a sidelong stare as Greed steps to catch up.

“ _Probably_?” He laughs hollowly, “Of course, nobody even knows how old they are, this is so stupid.” There’s a moment of silence before he asks, “How old do I look?”

Greed stops walking to look him over again, a hand stroking his chin in mock deep thought. Kimblee slows to a stop as well, not bothering to turn to face his companion.

“I’d saay… about twenny one? Twenny two?” He ceases the stroking of his non-existent beard and holds his hands up in an exaggerated shrug, “I can’t believe you’d be much older than that, kid.”

“Hm.” Was the only response Kimblee gave before his stomach imitated Greed’s from earlier, earning him an unsuppressed laugh from the taller man, “Oh shut up.”

Greed just laughs more as Kimblee’s cheeks warm very slightly, almost unnoticed considering the sun’s bright rays and the heat they walked in. He begins walking back to the Homestead.

“Don’t worry, Kimblee, Miles’ll be cookin’ up a damn storm for tonight, you won’t be going hungry again, not in this place.”

Kimblee looks as if he’s about to comment on that, about how would _he_ know he’d been starved, but he remains quiet. No point in bringing that up again when he was told to keep a lid on it.

At least that was something he was good at.

Following orders.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

It would be a couple of hours yet before the others started finishing their work and piling in for supper. Greed was going to help out in the gardens today, but the turn of events saw to it that he was occupied showing Kimblee around instead.

“...And over there is the whole slaughterhouse dealio.” The older of the two jabs a finger in the direction of the farm, circling it once before returning his hand to his side. “How does that sound as a work placement?”

Kimblee grimaces at him and folds his arms, “I think I’ll be just fine staying away from that kind of filth, thanks.”

“You sure? You look like the kind of guy who could really get behind a knife.”

“Excuse me?” Too far.

“What?” Greed’s attempts to play it cool were shattered by two piercing blue eyes fitted with an icy stare, “... Sorry.”

Kimblee holds the look a moment longer before sighing and grinding his teeth, “Tch.” He nudges his long, black hair over a shoulder, “Look, if this is going to be some kind of joke to you--”

“--No, no, sorry, really. I’m not gonna comment on that again, I promise.” He grins sheepishly, his hands up in surrender, much like he’d done back in the cage. “Don’t want to be killed in my sleep afterall--!”

Time could have stopped with the speed Kimblee lashes out. He didn’t aim to actually hit Greed, but boy if Greed didn’t have sharp reflexes he would have taken the back of a Greeny’s hand to his face. It wooshes by and Greed laughs loudly, dancing about humming a ‘you can’t catch me’ tune. Kimblee seems at odds with how to react, honestly thinking he may have done something wrong at first - one of the rules punishable by solitary confinement were attacking another Glader, so he wasn’t sure. Greed just sticks his tongue out at him and calms to a stand still when he realizes Kimblee wasn’t going to do anything more.

“Naw, but seriously, you don’t really get a choice in jobs, Kimmie. Everyone spends a day in each job until they find one they’re good at.”

Kimblee looks vaguely baffled at the display, his brow raising. “You’re such a child.” He figures that arguing wouldn’t get him anywhere, and that acceptance of the new rules was probably best. Because hey, he got to eat what he wanted, when he wanted. It was a pretty good deal. “Do we get free time, like, at all? Or do you work these poor, trapped children to the bone.”

“Oh please, what do you take me for exactly? We all work hard, earn our keep, and relax at the end of the day.”

“... You mean sleep at the end of the day, or does no one sleep either.”

“Oh shut up, of course we have breaks! Hell, we go weeks sometimes doing nothing but watering plants. Trust me, you’ll get bored on those days.” Greed waves a hand at him and snorts, “It’s hard at first, you know? But you’ll get used to it. You’ll like it here I think… I mean, I do.”

“Aren’t you guys trying to get out of here, though?” Kimblee frowns at that. They didn’t want to be trapped forever, right? And having a leader who _liked_ living in the Glade was surely going to be a problem. Kimblee’s brow creases further. “You don’t sound so keen.” There was a hard edge to his voice. This Greeny did not look like somebody who wanted to stay safe within the walls at all.

Greed shrugs, trying to think of something intelligent to say to get him out of the situation, but he doesn’t have the heart to tell lies, it just wasn’t really his style honestly. His voice quiets down considerably, thought clearly poured into his next words, “Hey, keep a secret?” Kimblee offers no immediate response other than a short, non-committal nod but Greed continues anyway, “I don’t know why, but, I’ve never had the same urge to leave here like the rest. Remember when we were walking along the wall earlier, I told you about Bradley? He was the same. Maybe others too but, I don’t know - I want to find a way out. I just know I want to protect these kids no matter what and if getting as far away from here as possible accomplishes that..?” Greed sighs raggedly, running a hand through dark hair, “... then so be it. I just can’t shake this feeling we’re not supposed to leave--”

“--Hey, Greed!”

Both Kimblee and Greed’s heads snap up to see who was calling only to find Mustang back at the Homestead with a raised hand. He was grinning and beckoning them over, now that he had their attention, “Grub’s up, guys, come on over!”

 

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

 

Dinner was served in a manner that one might describe as a battle royale. Kids crawling over eachother to grab their plates of food first while others tried to keep order and hand out cutlery and drinks before some clever person knocked them over. Maes could be seen in the fray holding up platters full of delicious looking courses - rice covered in a meaty sauce, or pasta if preferred. A side of greens and a warm bread bun. Greed’s mouth was watering, but he resisted the feast until every last Glader had grabbed their share and had moved to eat elsewhere. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before he and Kimblee could get their own, passing Maes by as he went to join Mustang at one of the tables they’d set up outside for the meal.

“I thought _I_ was the ‘Greeny’, shouldn’t I have gotten mine first?” Kimblee’s quiet, sarcastic remark finds it’s way to Greed’s ears and he barks a laugh. Of course, Kimblee was joking, but it was refreshing to have someone new to joke around with. No offense to Edward, but he still hadn’t hit puberty yet - there was still some time before the boy could join the cool kid ranks and be Greed’s friend. There was just something about Kimblee that clicked, but also something else that seemed distant and strange that Greed couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was as if he was missing something important, and anything Greed might say or do could set off some unpredictable string of events that he didn’t know if he could handle.

Noticing that Kimblee was staring, he shakes himself and grins, waving his food in front of Kimblee’s nose in anticipation. The Greeny doesn’t move though, he just watches with those cold eyes of his as if expecting an answer of some kind.

“What, see something you like?” Props to the Avaricious for not dropping his signature smirk. He had long since learned how to ‘play it cool’ - granted he looked exceptionally silly right now.

Kimblee’s expression twists into one of disgust and he shakes his head once, “I asked if it was a custom around here to let the younger ones take what they needed first. Adults come later, right?”

“Oh. Yeah, that sounds about right. They need it more, afterall - _growing boys_ and all that.” Greed nudges his shoulder, careful to not knock the dinner out of his hands, and steers away to find a seat at the table that Maes and Roy had taken over. Kimblee follows hesitantly, sighing deeply.

Nearing the table, his guard visibly raises once he enters a close proximity of the two older men so he takes a seat on Greed’s vacant side, stiffly moving to sit and even flinching at the clattering sound his plate makes when it is set on the smooth surface of the table. Roy catches on pretty quickly, analysing the newcomers movements with a very slightly raised brow and a mouthful of food. Greed snorts at the silent display and shakes his head as he settles.

“Mustang, Maes, this is Kimblee as I’m sure you all heard.” A fork full of pasta jabs in each respective direction, “Kimblee.” Another fork point, “The guys.” Greed leans back slightly, clearly satisfied with that job well done and shovels more food into his mouth. Maes laughs.

“Pleasure to make a proper acquaintance, Kimblee!” He sticks a hand out to shake the new kid’s, “I’m Maes, and I’m in charge of construction planning and all sorts of other bits and bobs that nobody else likes to do,” His eyes glance at Greed and he mouths back an offended ‘what?’ “I hope we’ll be good friends, since the alternative is the least bit enjoyable for all parties. Like a nightmare sleepover that never ends, hah!”

Kimblee takes his hand hesitantly at first but seems to ease out a little, “Hello… I’m Kimblee and I really don’t want to work in the Slaughterhouse.” He deadpans calmly earning a couple of pleasantly surprised expressions in return.

“A joker, huh?” Roy chimes in with a smirk, “Roy ‘Mustang’, runner, builder… I keep most of the order around here so watch your back, because I’ll be regulating all ass in the near vicinity.”

Honestly, the tense look of insecurity on Kimblee’s face was precious. If anyone had a camera, Greed would have been sure to have snapped a picture and kept it in plain view for all to see in the Homestead. It was a keeper. But alas, they had no such device, so all he could do was be satisfied with the look of slowly growing fury on the Greeny’s face. Kimblee, to his credit, made a fantastic effort of calming down almost immediately and smiling. Greed just snorts a laugh again and shakes his head, eyes on Roy.

“Hey, go easy on him Mustang, don’t flame the Greens on their first day, not cool.”

“Since when has Roy ever been cool!” Maes laughs.

The other Gladers seem to catch on to the liveliness of the table and shuffle closer to listen in on the ‘adult’ conversation. Ling, Envy and Edward slide over too, smirking at the four at the table, their laughter contagious.

By now, Kimblee was picking at his meal with an almost pissed off look about him, slowly taking bites of his meal while the others poked fun at eachother around him. Edward creeps around to his side and slumps down next to him.

“I’ve only been here about a week.” Ed starts suddenly, leaning his chin on his hands, his golden eyes watching Kimblee intent with interest before they’re moved to the dry wood of the table, “They’re all mad from staying here too long, I think. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” He smiles wryly, mock glaring in Roy’s direction. Kimblee looks up from his food and snorts humorlessly but doesn’t reply with more than a nod. Whether Ed saw it or not was his business anyway. But with that small attempt of comfort, Ed is up again, idly walking back to where his friends were without so much as a good bye.

Kimblee decides that the Glade was full of absolute weirdos.

 

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

 

With dinner finally over, Greed takes his exhausted-looking charge back to the sleeping area he had introduced to him earlier. Tired himself, Greed kicks his sleeping bag out across the floor and tosses Kimblee his own. He catches it and does the same, albeit more neatly and without the use of his feet.

“Don’t you have somewhere better to sleep? Being leader and all…” Kimblee flattens out his bag and sits on it. It was warm at night, and being new to the area it was probably a little too hot for comfort.

“Pshh, you think I get special privileges for being the leader?” Greed scoffs, climbing into the bag halfway, “You’d be absolutely right, I have a bed and everything.” He looks at Kimblee with a careful half-smile making it clear he was joking, “Anyone can choose to have a bed, a lot choose the outdoors over it though. No idea why.” He shrugs. “If you want something, just ask. We play fair here, everyone’s gotta be comfortable, y’know?”

Kimblee nods quietly, finally deciding to climb into his own sleeping bag as Greed flips off a switch and the lights cut out. There’s a long moment of silence as the two shift about and listen to other Gladers making their way to bed also.

“Hey, Greed?”

“Yeah?”

“What were you going to say earlier? About not leaving?” Kimblee sounded confused in the darkness, his voice younger than he looked. Greed frowns to himself and shifts to face away from the younger man. He noticed Kimblee liked to ask a lot of questions, as small and meaningless as they may seem, but also choose to remain quiet and analyse other bigger things for himself to see if he could work them out on his own first. Greed decided to test his skills in that area sometime soon.

“Don’t worry about it, kid. I wasn’t really going anywhere with it anyway.”

“Right.”

Kimblee didn’t hold much to those words but didn’t contest the answer regardless. Greed wanted to say more, that much felt clear to Kimblee. But he’d have to wait to ask later, maybe gain his trust as well. Not that Greed would ever gain Kimblee’s.

He glares into the darkness with a new resolve - play along, figure this new, strange prison out, and leave. If it meant stringing along some new playmates, then so be it. 

Manipulation was easy when everyone else thought they knew better than you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who gave kudos or bookmarked! Gosh, I got so excited around the first three, you can imagine the rest of them.  
> (I was bouncing off walls. Shhh, it's the first story I've ever written, let me be excited that people are reading this nonsense!)
> 
> The blog for FMMR updates ~~and random fma related posts~~ can be found here: http://fullmetalmazerunner.tumblr.com/
> 
> If you check out the links, I'm sure you'll find yourself well ovo/  
> I tend to post the odd update on the next chapters and snippets too, so if you're interested or want to ask me something about the story, go ahead!  
> I know some might be thinking, "Why make a blog when this isn't even popular?" Well the answer to that is simply to keep -myself- going. Having a place to ramble about this story helps me get excited to write more! I don't really have anyone I can chat about this stuff so it suits me just fine :>
> 
> But yes, end notes. Much ramble. Very bore.


	4. Sabotage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn names, we question motives, all in all Something is up with Greed.

The next morning Kimblee awoke early to a quiet scuffling noise in the trees nearby. A look to his left told him that the large figure of the one they called Greed was no where to be seen, which left kimblee instantly on guard. The noises he had heard had disappeared, drowned out finally by the rustling, gentle wind leaving behind an empty sense of paranoia. Had he even heard that? He was sure he had. The open sky above was still dark - the sun had lit it only enough to see the sleeping bodies of children and teenagers alike dotted about the area around him.

Kimblee wasn’t sure if he should move just yet or investigate. The childlike fear of doing something wrong briefly washes over him, mixing with anxiety before realization that he really had nothing to fear out here. It wasn’t like prison, at least from what he could remember. White walls and cold metal, a flash of tidy beds and clean shower rooms. It was times like this that Kimblee shuddered to himself, quietly acknowledging what must have happened to him, and yet he still doesn’t know why. Why had he been incarcerated, and what did he do in prison? Was he tough enough to stand up for himself? Did he get pushed around? A creeping feeling that he’d barely survived it sent a chill down the young man’s spine. It was times like this… that he wondered how fucked up his life must have been that the thought of clean and tidy rooms meant horror and cold fear.

A rustle of leaves from the nearby forest snaps Kimblee out of his thoughts and he immediately closes his eyes, taking on the form of a sleeping, oblivious glader. Just another worn out body so early in the morning. The sounds grow louder until hushed voices are heard in the clearing. A strong, teasing mutter and a stern whisper.

“-- I agree to that, sure. I’m not certain the maze would be such a good idea for him, but he does look able - moreso than the last greenies we’ve been getting.” Greed’s voice is quiet. There’s a shuffling sound every time he gets a little louder, probably his companion raising a hand to shush him.

“That’s true, but I don’t know if we can trust him yet. I know you like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but we’ve found something interesting out there and I can’t afford to have him endangering anyone examining it. It’s a quick and simple procedure - we go in, we collect information, we come out--”

“--Aw come on, Roy--!”

“--No, _Avery_. I don’t want you traipsing around the maze with a greeny when we have something _this important_ to recover. This could mean our chance of getting out of here! And _you_ would risk that?”

There’s a long silence. kimblee opens an eye to see if he can figure out what was going on, but to no avail. It honestly didn’t matter much to him, but the information was certainly something he hadn’t bargained for so early in his stay. So Greed’s real name was Avery? He almost snorts - no wonder he doesn’t use it. But it’s the second part that keeps him quiet. Greed’s unconscious wish to limit progress in the glade. Kimblee had noticed it when they talked the day before, but Greed had denied his concerns when Kimblee had brought it up again. But now he was starting to feel uneasy about this pattern that he so easily almost brushed off as nothing. Was Greed really not doing this on purpose?

Kimblee’s thoughts seem to consume him for a moment too long as a tap on his shoulder almost causes him to jump out of his skin. Instead the ex-prisoner’s quick fingers latch onto the retreating wrist and yank the body attached to it over onto the floor.

“Ahk!” Greed’s back collides with a post and he rebounds off it onto his side, whining, “Man, what the heck? I only came to wake you uuup…”

“Don’t touch me, asshole.” Kimblee snarls under his breath as he feels purple eyes fall on him. It seems while he was lost in thought Roy had already disappeared back into the trees, probably to wake everyone else up.

Greed shuffles onto his knees and sighs, “Jumpy aren’t we? I didn’t realize anyone had so much energy so early in the morning. Perfect for a runner, I’d say!” He gives Kimblee a wink and he flinches before raising a brow. Didn’t he _just have_ a talk with Roy about this? Way to not listen to your friends, _Avery._

Kimblee sighs deeply, forcibly relaxing his shoulders so that Greed would leave him alone.

“If you’re going to wake someone up, use your words. I know this concept is a little difficult for you--”

“--harsh--.”

“-- but I’m sure you’ll give it your best shot next time.” Kimblee gives him a dry look, “And stop interrupting people when they speak.”

Greed chuckles quietly and looks out among the rest of the children before turning his attention back to the long-haired brat, “Yikes, second day and you already have work for me. Be gentle.”

Kimblee only frowns harder, lip curling down. He may be an early bird, but he was certainly not chipper. He had been firmly placed in a foul mood by none other than his favourite leader. If he could shove Greed over without being put in isolation, he would. But he had more important matters to attend to than listen to this idiot prattle on senselessly and flirt with everyone and their mothers.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

With breakfast finally out of the way, it was time for Kimblee to move on to a different job. He’d watched the Runners leave before everyone else had woken up with a twinge of curiosity. Greed’s continuous hint dropping was starting to pull Kimblee in, and now _he_ wants to go in almost as much as Greed wanted him to.

With a sigh, he rises from the bench and moves to return his plate to Miles and Envy in the kitchens. Apparently the brat here was a Runner too. Kimblee briefly wonders if they take shifts running through the maze.

Returning to his seat, he contemplates what might happen if he just ran in there totally unprepared, then remembers what Greed had explained about the creatures within and the fact that if he got lost before the gates closed he’d be dead by morning. Hm.

Well that certainly posed quite the challenge, now didn't it.

Greed was busy bickering with the Edward kid, probably trying to get him to take on more than one job for the day while Greed dragged Kimblee everywhere again. From the sounds of things, it wasn’t going well. Kimblee’s eyes find the two sat at another table a ways away. He doesn’t know why, but he can’t seem to break his gaze, and he certainly didn’t want to be caught staring. Luckily both had their backs to him, but all the same. Edward was still tiny compared to everyone here, his bare week in the fields having almost no effect on his stature. He looked like he would be light on his feet, possibly a good candidate for a runner? Either way, Kimblee was sure Edward didn’t want to go near that place if he could help it. He was very good at organizing things, working out building plans and where to place things in the Glade. Good thing he wasn’t as weak as he looked, otherwise his usefulness out here would be pretty dismal.

Greed was something else. With experience under his belt and sizeable strength, he was just about good at anything. He could fill in for any job and work for hours easily. Apparently he was also a runner, so there was that. It was a weird thing to think about, being so good at so many things yet putting little to no effort into any of them. Kimblee frowns and sighs. He really didn’t like Greed at all. He just… didn’t feel trustworthy.

As if reading his mind, Greed suddenly turns around, catching Kimblee in his thoughts and winking from across the tables. With a frustrated growl, blue eyes are averted and planted on the grassy floor instead.

Definitely not trustworthy.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

Kimblee had been stewing quietly all day. Figuratively and literally. The heavy heat and the mix of uneasiness in his mind was doing nothing for him and slowly, oh so slowly, he was getting twitchy. Looking down at his hands he watched briefly, detached, as they shook, as if he was missing something or was unknowingly being triggered. The crease in his forehead had only deepened with each passing hour of the day as he wondered what it could be.

Maybe he was in a similar position before even coming to the Glade but didn’t know it? He snorts, brushing the thought off and resumes whatever chores Greed was having him do. Maybe it was the lack of trust in this place, everyone just went about their own business not really knowing what would become of them in the end. Just like prison. Everyone watched everyone, did what they were told with a chance of getting out if they did things right. Punishment for bad deeds, high walls, same gender, strange people, quirky, hard work, jobs that only few could make use of, rules, rule breakers.

Truth be told, Kimblee didn’t have a single idea of what his life was like before, or even why he was in a facility to begin with, so he only assumed that this was some twisted continuation of his stay.

And here he waited. It had only been two days but his patience had long worn thin, he found.

There was a long silence before Kimblee realized that he’d stopped working altogether and was garnering odd stares from kids who were too scared to push him back to work or even let their notice become known. He found his eyes were on the wall anyway, staring at the gates as if trying to see through them to whatever lay beyond.

It was then that he decided he was going to try and escape. First thing in the morning he was leaving, maybe the others were just too incompetent to actually get something done out there, dangers be damned.

 

❈⊱❖⊰❈

 

“Kid!” A loud voice, tired and broken from the user having just woken up and scrambled across the glade in an effort to not lose sight of him, “Kimmy get back here, man, what the hell are you doing?!”

Kimblee didn’t have time to look back. True to his earlier deductions, Greed was more than capable of outrunning him and even keeping up his pace way past whatever Kimblee could ever manage. The only reason he was in front and not being trampled by the older glader was because Kimblee had knotted Greed’s shoes (very tightly, of course) and pelted it towards the wall just after the first Runners had left. His reason being, 1) the runners always went into the maze the moment those huge gates grinded open, and 2) if they were out there and not in here, there would be no one more capable of coming after Kimblee, or even with the knowledge he was out there. Well, that was the hope, but it turns out Greed and Ling were off duty today and the (ex?) prisoner trying to make a break for it had certainly not escaped their notice.

Well, at least he had a head start.

“I’m getting out of here!” A rushed breath, barely loud enough to echo off the giant maze walls for Greed to hear him as he rounded a corner. Just keep running. That’s all he had to do.

Originally, Kimblee had planned to keep track of how many corners he went by, which directions he took, but after the fifteenth turn with Greed still on his heels, his brain just about gave up and he focused the rest of his energy on just running. It was only about a minute before Greed’s footfalls slowed and he began to back up, opting to continue his pointless calling.

“Please man, just come back yeah? There’s no way out, we’ve been everywhere there is to go-- Please Kimblee, _you don’t know what’s out there_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this one is shorter than the last, but I really wanted to stop stalling since it's been saved like this for such a long time. Better to update and move on right? I was mostly boosted into posting because of a lovely message I received on tumblr :> So thank you ectoplasm-bodyshots for that wonderful ask :D
> 
> Regardless, I hope you enjoy!


	5. *PAUSE*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A... small apology for not updating for like 2 years omg?  
> I promise I'll do something over summer, uni has been KILLER.

Totally down to answering au questions and doodling things for people of characters involved!! Especially since I've made people wait so darn long.


	6. On the Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so kudos and comments clearly do not speed up production... *quietly side eyes my end chapter notes and the two years I haven't updated, and sweats* but it in no way lessens the happiness they bring me when I do see them! Gosh, I'd like to say a big thank you to those who have messaged me on here and tumblr with kind words and support. Honestly they had me overjoyed.
> 
> So this one is for you guys!

Out of breath and nowhere else to go, Kimblee finally stops running. The overexertion had him exhausted and weak, so slowing down was out of the question - he stumbles and falls with a pained huff, not even strong enough to cry out when his knees hit the ground.

Another scorching day had begun and Kimblee immediately starts to curse himself for not bringing a bottle of water. This was stupid. He snorts to himself and allows his body to collapse against one of the vast stone walls. Stupid, but necessary, he concedes to himself. With a quick glance behind him and a moment of holding his breath to hear himself _think_ , he deduces that Greed was no longer on his heels. It had taken a lot longer than Kimblee would have liked to throw him off, but whatever, it was done now. Kimblee had escaped the glade, but…

… But now he was in hell.

“God dammit…” He hauls himself into a more comfortable sitting position and wipes an arm across his brow. Every side he looked, the maze was identical in it’s ugly old vines and clawed up walls and-

-And clawed up walls. Uh. Kimblee had forgotten about that detail.

He sighs and slumps, still breathing hard. Yes of course, the dreaded night time, when monsters crawled out of their pits of despair to feast upon whatever scraps were left out in the sun too long. How could he forget?

 _Disgusting._ A brief wonder of what they might look like itched at the back of his mind but he shook it off.

Those _things_ had made a boy scream himself hoarse. Had killed other runners. It made one thing certain - Kimblee was not going to be able to outrun whatever was hiding in the darkness.

❈⊱❖⊰❈

Midday had come and pass slowly. Kimblee found himself trudging along the winding, confusing paths for hours, not bothering to save his energy and rest just yet. He had to make sure he wasn’t caught by any runners still out here with him. Of course, they didn’t know Kimblee was in the maze yet - not unless Greed or Ling had gone to warn them immediately after his escape.

Kimblee groans but continues on. He had to find a safe place to hide before the darkness came - not to mention his plan on finding an escape route out of here.

At least he was alone now, away from the other boys and given time to think about what was happening to him. Kimblee felt no trust in him for anyone in the glade, no warmth for the kindness shown to him. A heavy sigh escapes through his gritted teeth. Was he really that tense still? Or was it the lingering feeling of guilt building in his gut? He had left without a word or before even _trying_ to gain the help of his fellow prisoners. Obviously, none of this was thought through enough, and he was kicking himself mentally for it. There was no way he was the first idiot to pull a stunt like this - otherwise _everyone_ would be trying to escape too!

So it wasn't guilt then, just regret.

“Auuugh, Fuck!” Kimblee’s hands latch onto his head and tear at his scalp, irritated. Any hair that was neatly tied up was now a mess again, but he didn’t care.

“Uh, Mr. Kimblee?” A young, halting voice catches his attention immediately and Kimblee’s head snaps up to see where it’s coming from. It was one of the runners who’s name Kimblee hadn’t bothered to remember. His features were unremarkable. Voice the same as any child his age. Kimblee glares at the boy for sneaking up on him.

“What.”

The boy startles and jogs closer from his spot around one of the thousands of corners.

“N-nothing! Just…” He trails off, unsure, until Kimblee snaps at him again.

“Well?”

“Uh! I was just wondering why you, uh, why you were out here?” His expression changes to some sort of surprise, “Did Greed let you out here with us for some training?” He glances past Kimblee incase Greed was indeed out here too and was just catching up.

Kimblee snorts and shakes his head, watching as the boy’s hopeful look falls, “I’m alone. I’m leaving this shithole.”

“W-what? You can’t be out here, it’s dangerous-!”

“You think I don’t know that? Get out of my way or come with me, those are your only choices.” The boy looks as if he’s about to protest but Kimblee beats him to it, “That means you either _shut up_ or _get lost_. Got it?”

The boy nods mutely, shocked at the sudden raise in volume. He doesn’t move as Kimblee pushes past him and continues onward. It wasn’t like he could physically restrain the older boy and drag him back to camp. It would mean death for both of them if they didn’t make it back in time.

“Kimblee?” No reply. The boy follows hesitantly, “You, uh. You’re very far from camp, y’know? I’ll stick with you for a bit incase you want to head back…”

All that is offered in response is a loud dismissive snort. Go back? Yeah right. It wouldn’t hurt to keep someone close by who knew the maze, however.

They had walked what felt like miles and the boy had kept silent the entire time. Kimblee could feel his eyes on him every now and then, and the clear want to start up a conversation, but he was too afraid.

 _Well good_ , Kimblee sighs. Though, he was getting terribly bored with all of this. The same walls and plant life and nothing different in the slightest. Finally, he huffs and turns his head to give the boy a once over before looking ahead again.

“Got a name?” Kimblee says tonelessly.

The boy instantly perks up, jogging half a step closer, “Yes! It’s Marky!”

“Mm.” Is all he offers as a reply.

Marky sighs from behind him and falls back. It’s another minute before he finds the courage to pipe up again, “Hey, uh, Kimblee?”

Silence.

“It’s, uh, getting dark out, y’know?” Marky says. Kimblee glances up at the bright, blue sky with a frown.

“I mean- it’s gonna get dark soon! We should have headed back a while ago for lunch. The others must be worried about us…”

Kimblee comes to a stop and finally turns to his companion, “You know, you don’t have to be here if you don’t want to. I said I wasn’t going back, so you might as well leave.” He gives Marky a cold stare. He wasn’t sure how clear he could make it to this boy that he didn’t want him here. So far he’d done nothing useful beside point out passages that took them further from camp. Speaking of dark, Kimblee would have to find a place to hide soon.

“You made the choice, Marky. There is no _us_ right now. It’s just you, and me.” He emphasises with the slow jabs of his finger and thumb. “If you don’t want to die, I suggest to hop to it and run along, no?”

Marky looks conflicted and some parts horrified. Leave someone alone in the maze? His expression bared all to Kimblee. He watched semi-amused as his eyes flickered between confusion and worry, to fear and hopelessness. In the end, resignation. Kimblee was right. There was no ‘us’. If Marky wanted to live, he’d have to head back now before he ran out of time and the gates shut in front of him.

Marky takes a step back not meeting Kimblee’s gaze.

“I… I’m sorry, Mr. Kimblee. I-I'll get help.” And he runs in the opposite direction, not daring to look back.

And a good thing too.

Kimblee was grinning. A sick glee drawn from the pain of another, but it faded just as quickly as it came, to his amusement. Since coming here, Kimblee was experiencing his body form so many automatic reactions to things he wouldn’t have thought of reacting to consciously.

It was certainly… interesting. Definitely something to analyse later while he waited out the darkness. You know, if he wasn't killed first of course.

 _Jeez, no wonder I was in prison before,_ he huffs a dry laugh and resumes his trek. Whoever he was before... maybe he could start over with the chance he had been given. Be a new person. Wouldn't that be something?

Another hour of walking and searching found Kimblee at a dead end. It wasn’t the first one he’d come across so far, but he had a reason for approaching it. In the corner there was an area of clumped vines that created a small hollow that was big enough for him to climb into. It wasn’t spacious at all, barely allowing his sitting form in without cramping it up uncomfortably, but it would do for the night. He had no idea what kind of creatures he would be seeing during the night, so it was better than nothing. _Hopefully the monsters were big enough that they wouldn’t be crawling from the walls themselves_ , he chuckles humorlessly. If the scary monsters were _bugs_ then Kimblee wished for a quick death so that he wouldn’t have to deal with that.

He shivers and pulls a face. Bugs were gross.

In the time it took for Kimblee to stop fussing with his hiding spot for any signs of life, the sun fell casting long, dark shadows over the maze and it’s inhabitants - wherever and whatever those were. As the light lowers, it catches something in his peripheral and he turns to look at the dead-end wall. It was grimy and weathered, nothing immediately standing out. Kimblee squints at it, frowning as if it had wronged him. He could have sworn he saw something-

_-there!_

Another glint catches his eye and he steps over to the wall, arm reaching out to scrub off the dirt and dust that caked the surface. A few minutes and he’d uncovered scratches in the wall - not just any random marks, but purposely made indents. Somebody did this. Not recently, but maybe years ago.

“What the heck…” Kimblee mutters softly as he continues to brush away at the rockface. The more he worked away at it, the more he started to see patterns and designs slowly reveal themselves to him. He steps back to marvel at it.

“Whoa… maybe Greed knows what this is? Definitely been here long enough.” He chews his lip in thought, cursing himself once again for not preparing for his stupid runaway mission. With a long sigh he gets back to scraping off what he could from the wall, completely forgetting about the quickly fading light until loud groans echoed and heaved throughout the maze. The gates were closing.

Kimblee stiffens. Had it really been that long already? He’s about to move to his hiding spot when another noise catches his attention. The scattering of stones at the mouth of the corridor he was hidden in. Heavy breathing. Kimblee turns his head slowly, praying in his mind that he wasn’t found by a monster already. It was too soon, surely? There was no way…

It didn’t make a difference how slowly he turned or how prepared he was. His heart almost stops when he sees it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a question for you guys - would you prefer more frequent but shorter chapters, like this one? Or longer ones like the others?  
> The longer they are the longer I take, and I really don't want to end up leaving this poor fic for another two years lmao. I definitely only made it this far with the support I received so, thank you guys so much for that. I never in a million years thought this story would catch the interest of this many people!
> 
> Another thought - if they're shorter, I may be able to add illustrations too, if anyone is interested? Please let me know what you think! I would also like to ask (sorry >< so many questions!) if the format is okay for everyone and not too boring?
> 
> See you next chapter!


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